Closing Act
by LilyGinnyBlack
Summary: Peppita meets up with the rest for a tenyear reunion, yet, when she gets there she realizes just how truly lonely she is. Who can help her remember how to smile? FaytPeppita, Alphia, implied CliffNel


_**Closing Act**_

_A/N: Hello everyone! I thought I'd try a different pairing this time, since I was influenced by one of the forums here that was talking about Peppita/Fayt, it seemed interesting…so, I gave it a try. Of course, mention of Alphia is made too, along with a small bit of implied Cliff/Nel. Besides all that, I hope you all enjoy it, now, onto the story. : )_

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Two feet, clad in red boots, crunched down upon the soil of Elicoor II. The said boots belonged to none other than Peppita Rossetti. Though, she was no longer the image of an immature fourteen-year-old that had moments of maturity, rather, she was now twenty-four years of age. After all, today was their ten-year reunion; she hadn't seen any of them in ten long years. She had prepared herself for the multitude of changes she was sure to find and for the large amount of things that were sure to have stayed the same.

As she began to walk (or more preferably skip) toward the city of Aquios, her hair swung back and forth in its high ponytail form, as her mind began to wander. The others had been unable to keep in contact with her simply due to the fact that she was always on the move. Since she was part of the troupe they never stayed in one place for to long, it had only been due to a good amount of luck that found her here. They had done a performance in Fayt's home country and the two had literally run into each other.

Fayt had told her that he and Sophia visited their hometown every year for the O-bon festival, which was a festival to commemorate the dead. Fayt had also made mention of the fact that this festival was normally spent among family, which now, only included his mother and Sophia's parents. Peppita had learned that he had traveled down early this year and was glad he had been able to catch her like he had; for he told her of the get together they had planned for the ten-year anniversary of their journey to destroy the Creator. At the time they hadn't gotten the chance to talk much because Peppita had a performance she had to get to, yet, now she would be able to catch up in all of their lives.

She couldn't help but feel nervous. After all, she was about to meet up with people that she hadn't seen in ten-years, people who still thought of her as a child, and who were almost like strangers again. Or, she feared that would be the case, yet, she was mildly surprised to find that-as soon as she walked into the city and saw the group gathered there-she felt like no time had passed at all.

There had been some changes, she could tell that for certain as she saw a young girl no older then nine rush by-hair the same color as Albel's-which surprised her to no end, yet to see the said man in a heated argument with Nel settled any worries she may have had about any and all changes.

Her legs, in a red skirt that flowed around her body, a pair of black spandex shorts hidden beneath, and a pink corset set snug against a red tang top, stayed still as she examined everything. Her eyes lit up at the sights before her. For, Peppita had nearly forgotten how beautiful the architecture was within the city walls, and the sight of short blue hair sent a grin onto her face. And, as Peppita began to take all the views in, it took her a moment for her brain to comprehend that someone had tapped her on the shoulder. The strands of her large bow trailed around her body as she swung around and came face to face with Sophia.

"Sophia!" The name left the younger girl's lips with a hint of laughter and happiness sprinkled in. Along with the ecstatic tone of voice was the sight of the twenty-four-year-old as she practically tackled the twenty-seven-year-old. "How have you been?" The question was asked once the two had both their feet planted upon the ground again and their embrace was broken.

Yet, Sophia didn't answer right away, instead she let out a small bout of giggles, "I've heard you've been busy."

Peppita just nodded her head to confirm what the brunette had heard. "The troupe has made it so I've been all over the galaxy twice over!" She then gave a melodramatic sigh before a smile crawled its way onto her still child-like face. "But…with being so busy…it's been nearly impossible to get in contact with you guys. It's been ten years, in fact, and any type of a love life is non-existent." By the time she finished her sentence the fake melancholy was replaced by a true show of the emotion.

The blond let her eyes slip over to Sophia, who wore a pink T-shirt and blue jeans, her hair trailed down her back in a loose braid. Then her eyes made their way farther down to a little boy with brown hair, one of his hands held Sophia's, his face was titled downward, thus, his eye color was unknown to her. Nevertheless, Sophia must have noticed for her voice soon spoke up, "This is my son, Nero. Nero, this is Peppita, one of your mother's friends…she also knows your father."

Pale green eyes watched as the little boy's head shot upward at the mention of his father. And then, Peppita's green irises met rose dyed ones. "You know my father! Are you really good friends? Are you a really powerful fighter like father?"

"Erm…" She didn't know how to respond to the awe-inspired child. And, just when Peppita thought she could scrap together some answers to his questions, she was saved by Sophia.

"Nero! That's rude of you! Where are your manners? Don't just bombard Peppita with questions like that, I swear, you and your older sister take after your father far too much…" She sighed.

"Albel," Peppita couldn't help the laughter that spilled out. "Their father is Albel! Wait, you married Albel?" Her disbelieve was evident upon her face. "But, I just can't imagine Albel as a father…and why _him_..."

Sophia let out another set of laughs, "Well, you know what they say, 'opposites attract'. All he needed was a small reminder of what it meant to be human, that he was Albel **Nox** not Albel '**the Wicked'**." Dark green orbs glanced a ways down the stone covered road and Peppita let her eyes follow her direction. And there was Albel, the girl she had seen moments before at his side as she tugged at his arm as if she wanted to show him something. "Nero, why don't you go see what your sister is up to, me and Peppita want to talk for a little."

"Yes, mother." The response was almost lost to the wind as Nero took off to help his sister innocently torment their father.

"How many children do you two have exactly?"

"Three. There's Nero, our middle child who is six, Mei who is the oldest just turned nine, and our youngest Rai, is three. And, some how, out of all our children only one got my green eyes, I never would have thought that red eyes would be the dominate gene over green. I guess the green eye gene is just doomed to be recessive, huh." Here Sophia acted childishly as she pouted and then stuck out her tongue. "They adore there father though, I think it's because…Well, Albel can be a strict father, but…he has his moments when he falters and our children want to see that side of their father more. So, they never seem to leave poor Albel alone, I think that was why I was attracted to Albel in the first place. I could sense a kind hearted person inside that cold shell." Then Sophia gave Peppita _that_ smile. A _true_ smile, how Peppita envied that smile…

"Sophia! I don't think Rai likes me; take the kid away from me!" Cliff's voice echoed over toward them.

"Oh, it seems that our time to talk got cut short, I'll see you around Peppita!" Sophia called back to Peppita as she rushed to save her daughter from the clutches of one Cliff Fitter.

Quickly Sophia was lost among the others and Peppita could just barely feel the sad smile upon her lips. She couldn't help but feel pleased that Albel and Sophia had found each other…she just wished that she could find someone…or that someone would find her. While she had a job that held many beauties-it was also very lonely. All she wanted was some form of companionship.

"Hey, Peppita, why do you look so sad?" she sensed the presence of Fayt before he had even spoken and, if that hadn't been enough, the sound of his smooth tone gave him away. His voice was just as gentle and kind as it had been ten-years ago when she had been fourteen and had a crush on the said individual. "Do you not like seeing everyone again?"

Surprise shone clearly on her face, "No! I love seeing everyone again, it's just that, well, everyone's gotten to settle down…haven't they? The only one left now is me."

"Nope, Roger and I haven't settled down yet either. And, well, hey, I'm not use to you having such a down face. What happened to the Peppita that I remember? Ya know the one that was always smiling." Fayt let out a small laugh and a weak smile.

The performer let out a sigh, "The Peppita you remember was fourteen-**not**-twenty-four. That makes a huge difference."

"Well, I know one thing; you're much cuter now then you were back then." The bluenette gave the blond a rather foolish smile that made her giggle.

"That had to be the lamest thing I have **ever** heard you say Fayt, and you've said some pretty weird things." Yet, Peppita couldn't help but feel slightly touched by the words spoken. Nor could she stop the blush that crept up her cheeks as Fayt caught her in a hug. "Wha…? Fayt…?" Her childish crush on him seemed to have made its way into her mind again and wouldn't leave.

The older man just brought her body closer to his own. "What's with the fake smiles and laughs? Why can't you laugh and smile like you used to?"

"I don't know…" He still had his arms draped around her lithe frame.

"Do you remember how real your smile was when you first saw me or how genuine that echo of laughter sounded throughout that small hotel room? Do you remember what had you in such frenzy?" Light jade orbs filled with confusion met with clarity once they were met with a darker shade.

She nodded her head in remembrance, "I was elated at the fact that it was my opening act-my grand and magnificent debut."

"Well, you're lonely and you don't want to travel so much anymore, right?"

"That's right."

"So, it's really very simple. Before you wanted attention and got it through your opening act, now, you just want time for love in your life." He let go of the embrace; yet, his eyes never left her small body.

Yes, all it would take now…would be her closing act. That would be the only thing that could give her life some joy again. And, as two pairs of emerald irises met, realization hinted heavily in them.

All in do time-neither would be alone anymore-and as Peppita watched the love between Sophia and Albel and their family, the close proximity of Nel and Cliff, the familiar interactions among Maria and Mirage, and the obvious laughter from Roger and Adray…she couldn't wait. "Fayt."

"Yes, Peppita?"

"You were always far too nice to me, after all, I was always a brat. I remember Albel use to call me that all the time."

A grin tugged at both of their lips, "Well, even if you were a brat, you were always so cute."

With a roll of her eyes Peppita wondered, _"Why did I ever have a crush on him again?" _And with one quick thought on the conversation they had only minutes before came the answer, _"That's right, it's because he always acknowledged me, and always found a way to get a true smile on my face."_

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_A/N: Well, it's all said and done, I like how it ended up coming out. I had a tough time at first, didn't quite know how to get the flow of things at first, but I got it together fairly quickly. Anyway, please tell me what you think of it in a review. Take care. : D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


End file.
